Store owner outraged by $466 graffiti fine

Feb. 15, 2010

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Rosa Bobbio, an Anaheim business owner, looks through one of her business' several display windows. Her neighborhood has been plagued by graffiti for years but recently, she says, etched graffiti on the windows has become a major problem. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Anaheim business owner Sergio Mairena reviews bills for glass repair and paint at his office on East Street. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Rosa Bobbio, an Anaheim business owner, looks through one of her business' several display windows. Her neighborhood has been plagued by graffiti for years but recently, she says, etched graffiti on the windows has become a major problem. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM -- Rosa Bobbio said she feels like nobody is on her side – a victim of graffiti taggers on one side and city officials on the other.

Bobbio is facing a $466 fine from city code enforcement for failing to remove graffiti etched on the windows of her upholstery shop on the 100 block of South East Street.

Fighting the taggers is a frustrating and near-constant battle, she said. She's already spending hundreds of dollars a year painting over graffiti on the walls, and she can't afford to replace windows – an estimated $1,600 cost.

She said she would hope the city would be more involved in helping her solve the graffiti problem instead of compounding her worries by issuing a fine.

"I'm upset. I'm angry," Bobbio said. "I pay my taxes. They should be putting these criminals in jail. ...I need help from the city – not a citation."

City officials said that they routinely work with business owners and residents to help remove graffiti, but window etching presents a particularly difficult problem.

Last year, the city launched the Anaheim Community Anti-Graffiti Effort, a program involving residents, business owners, police and code-enforcement officers to fight graffiti.

In Bobbio's case, code enforcement responded to a complaint filed through the city's hotline and gave her more than the usual 15 days to remove the graffiti, said Ruth Ruiz, an Anaheim spokeswoman.

"We do understand that is a lot of money, but we also have to encourage the quick removal of the graffiti because that is the best deterrent to more graffiti," Ruiz said.

Bobbio has owned Century Upholstery, near busy Lincoln Avenue and East Street, since 1982. In recent years, she said, taggers scribbling on walls, sidewalks and trash Dumpsters have become a major problem for her and surrounding business owners.

"I feel like it isn't Anaheim any more, it feels like an alley in Los Angeles or something," she said.

She keeps a five-gallon bucket of paint and weekly covers graffiti on the walls.

But a more tricky problem is when taggers etch into the storefront windows.

She recently contracted with a company that put up a replaceable window film to help prevent deep scratches.

The day after she put up the film, she discovered taggers had carved into it overnight.

Bobbio, originally from Nicaragua, traveled there in January for her mother's funeral and, when she returned home to Anaheim, she found the citation in her mail.

The letter from Anaheim Code Enforcement, dated Jan. 12, indicates that Bobbio was first notified of the etching violation on Oct. 1, 2009.

The citation fine is $100, the reinspection fee $366 – for a total of $466.

"It has been a nightmare," said Sergio Mairena, the co-owner of the upholstery shop.

Code-enforcement officers have suggested that the shop install more lighting. Mairena said he patched over some outside recessed ceiling lights in front of the store because somebody – he thinks the taggers – repeatedly broke the light bulbs.

He and Bobbio installed other security lighting around the building but it hasn't helped. They had insurance that helped cover the cost of the graffiti damage, but the insurance cancelled the policy, he said.

"I'm considering hiring an attorney to help me fight this," Bobbio said. "I'm just trying to run my business. And I feel like a victim."

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